So far...

...so lazy.

I have been taking a break from my artistic side hustle. It's quite a relief not having to design, wait for approval, amend, confirm, email, collect, pack and mail out packages. One less to-do thing on my daily task list. I do miss the process but I love the serenity and freedom I have now.

In the midst of that freedom, I also started to 'disconnect' from everything I used to love and enjoy. I loved pretty things, like fabric and thinking what I should make out of it. I loved looking at Pinterest, filled with photos of beautiful home styles and how I should redecorate my home. I loved DIY projects and creating something with my hands. 

Now, I mostly go "What's the point.."

And my social media presence, is failing big time. Is it digital depression? I just feel like it's a big fake busy world out there. I just want to crawl into bed and lie there. 

I'm glad I have this blog to come back to. This has been my refuge, and my space for sharing and expression. Yep, I'll stick to you, blog.

I hope my mojo finds me soon.

Goodbye and Thank You 2015!

I left my job on the 17th December, for the rest of the year.. teehee. It's the annual Josie-goes-home-for-the-holidays. It's true what people say, you are busier when you are NOT working. Hence, my long absence here.

Here's my 2015 in summary:

1. Darren's first year in kindergarten.
2. Collected new IC.
3. Celebrated BTI's 25th Year Anniversary Gala Dinner, which I left early because I was suffering from some weird reflux/bad hiccups attack.
4. My maternal grandfather passed away. Missed my company's retreat at Batam.
5. Started my own carpool.
6. Got Daniel a folding bicycle for his birthday.
7. Became enchanted with Jalan Tan Hiok Nee.
8. Went to my first Big Bad Wolf book sale.
9. Became an aunt. The husband's sis had her first child.
10. The husband got his Ducati. A dream come true, he said.
11. Got an Apple Watch for my dad's birthday.
12. Celebrated my old school, Convent's 90th Anniversary. Met a lot of old schoolmates and teachers.
13. Made mooncakes for the first time.
14. Started cooking a lot. Don't know what came over me. Made my first quiche, tried some new recipes I learnt from AFC. And ahem... they were good, yo.
15. A beloved leader, director, mentor and godmother, Prof Miranda Yap, passed away, 4 years after a stroke.
16. Had an issue with paypal. Apparently, my account balance exceeded an amount which required me to submit some documents to prove that I am the owner of my account. This led to...
17. Registering 'aruri' as a sole proprietor company.
18. Got into a costume frenzy. Made Darren a Lego-man costume. Made myself a Darth Vader costume. Phew, enough dy.
19. Celebrated our 11th Marriage Anniversary.
20. Received my 15-Year Long Service Award gift voucher.
21. Made my first batch of readymade stamps. They were almost sold out within the first 3 months. Made a larger 2nd batch. Oh the joy.
22. Went on a mega family trip, father's side, to Vietnam. (will post this soon!)
23. Spent Christmas Eve shopping and dining with mummy dearest and the two boys, in Singapore. Took MRT to see Orchard's Xmas lights. Fail! It was too crowded.
24. Got a Guess Ceramics watch for mummy dearest.
25. Received a cheque from Google Adsense for blogging. USD104. Not bad!
26. Ordered an Arai helmet from Amazon Japan. Launched myself into a roller coaster anxiety ride when I learnt that I should apply for an Approved Permit. Then I learnt I could be taxed for its high value. The husband saved the day. And the helmet was his reward.

And lastly, I'm proud of my Etsy shop's achievement this year. Not much, but it makes me happy :)

That's about it. Welcome 2016!

All In A Day's Work

That day a colleague asked me, "How long is your drive home?" I get asked many times, trust me. So I gave my standard pre-recorded answer, "Ohh, well... about an hour, in a good traffic I guess?". This Q&A is very common for me. People are always amazed that I commute to work from JB everyday.
But that day, I was asked this question for the first time, "Wow.... do you get to spend time with your kids?"

Hmmm... as a matter of fact, I do! Since people are wondering, this is my weekday's routine.

I wake up at 5am. I peek into my boys' room to see them sleeping like angels. So beautiful.

I drive to pick up a carpool passenger on the way, and head to the second link customs. Traffic is long for a stretch of period, dunno why. But these days, it's been pretty good.. also dunno why. It's so mysterious, you know, like a season or something.

I reach my office at 6.45am on a good traffic day. On bad traffic days, God knows. But I'm still early, at 7.30am.

Work. Then at lunchtime, my workmates and I go out for lunch. Sometimes, just at the food court at the the next building, sometimes we venture a bit further out. I get to shop for a bit for things that I can't get in Malaysia. Then back to work.

I start my journey home at about 5.30pm, sometimes earlier. I pick up my carpool passengers and head off to the Tuas checkpoint. Traffic is bearable. I drop my passengers off respectively.

I reach home at 6.30pm, on average. My boys are watching TV. I take them out to the playground near our house. We cycle there. Or sometimes, we play badminton outside our house. I just try to get them out of the house as much as possible, even for a short time. Then at 7pm, we hear the azan. The boys know it's time to go home.

At home, we chill for 5 to 10 minutes before dinner starts. I'm extremely lucky to have a helper who can cook well. So we start dinner. Sometimes, the husband is not back yet, but we eat nonetheless, because Daniel has tuition at 8pm, twice a week. I love meals together. We'd talk about anything and everything that happened that day. Like a dinner meeting. I think it's important for families to have meals together on a daily basis.

After dinner, we chill at the living room. We eat our fruits. Daniel showers and get ready for tuition, while I play with Darren. On days Daniel doesn't have tuition, we'd all just hang out together. Sometimes, we go to Giant to get our household necessities. Or run errands like change money and pay bills at the ATM. Or sometimes, I'd go to the kitchen and prepare a special dish for the next day's dinner. I'd marinade something, then write down instructions for my helper to complete the dish the next day.

I get the boys to their room to check their homeworks. Or tutor Daniel. He still need improvement in his Bahasa. He likes to fidget and get his hands busy when he studies. He is easily distracted too. I get stern a lot of times with him. Darren on the other hand, is rather focused. When he is into something, he concentrates. Sometimes he gets side-tracked too. He is disciplined in the sense that he'd be determined to finish his homework no matter how late it gets.

I get the boys to shower. I help Darren sometimes, though he can shower by himself now, but I still need to wash his buttocks to make sure it's clean. It's heartwarming to see them bath and play together. It's every mother's dream to see her children get along and love each other...uhhuh.

They get into bed by 9.30pm. I read Darren a bedtime story. I used to do this with Daniel, but now I want him to read by himself. Daniel packs his school books for the next day. I kiss them goodnight.

This is actually the reading corner in MY room. Usually, we'd read in their cozy room. 

I take a shower. I choose my attire for the next day, so that I don't spend a lot of time mulling in the morning. I check my wallet to make sure I have enough cash to pump petrol or to top-up my Touch-n-Go card.

If I'm not dead tired yet, I'd go to my craft station and inhale the air there. If I'm not inspired, I go to bed. Haha. By now it's already 10.30pm.

Rinse and repeat.

Peeved...

You know, Facebook is awesome and all but sometimes it really gets to me. Maybe I'm really not a social media person. Or worse, I'm really not social. *embarassed grin*

So based on this fact that I'm not social on media, I just don't understand certain individuals who has a constant need to post things on FB. And worse, some couples I know, seem to habitually communicate through the public media. Why...

OK, my Nombor Satu pet peeve:

The Baby
A couple of people in my FB had a baby. So cute right? All babies are cute of course, especially your own. I remember this saying, "There is only one beautiful baby in the world, and every mother has it" But obviously, some moms seem to believe "There is only one beautiful baby... MINE!!!!" Of course this can be true, but please, keep it to yourself, k? I totally understand the overwhelming love you have as a first-time mother, and you're enraptured in this magical bond between you and your firstborn. But some people need to publicize this. On a weekly basis. Even daily. Can someone kill me?

So basically, every photo postings I see of that baby literally screams "LOOK AT MY BABY! LOOK AT MY BABY!!" It's no longer cute. And worse, when it comes with the caption, "My little precious's many faces/pattern liao liao" when there is clearly NO SIGNIFICANT differences in the baby's expression, in that 50 photo montage.

So, I wonder, what is the acceptable frequency of baby photo postings? I don't know. I've seen this baby's photo on FB every 2-3 days ever since he was born. Max... 5 days. Maybe that is the norm for some people? Not to me...

My Nombor Dua pet peeve:

The Home Cooked Food
This one is rather grey line. Maybe some people feel a simple homely meal like steamed fish, kailan and ABC soup is worth sharing. Maybe they believe others have not seen such meals before. Or maybe they thought it's a Masterchef feat. I dunno la. But seriously, I only see one thing, and one thing only.

Nak mintak puji, ni. You'll see that all the comments will be "WOW, look so yummy!", "OOHHHH, you can really cook so well!" and "Bo jio!"..hahaha. Now aint' that an ego-booster?

Don't get me wrong, I love to see what my friends whip up in the kitchen now and then.. you know, something atypical. Like, if you baked a quiche for the first time, like mua, yes, please post it!

OK, finish ranting!

Goodbye Ah Gong --- The Chinese Funeral

My maternal grandfather passed on last Friday :(

I wasn't very close to him, but I was probably the last family member to see him before he left.

It was the day I went to pay the nursing home bills, and I saw him sleeping so peacefully like a baby. He had shrunk so much, and his skin was suddenly so smooth. I whispered "Bye ah gong", but never did I expect that I would be really saying BYE for real.

I think the only strong memory I have of him is when his old squatter house at Jalan Mahmoodiah got torn down for development, and he was left by the road with his belongings. Somehow, someone called my uncle in Singapore to inform him about this, and he panicked and called my mom who was at that time abroad, and she panicked and called me.

So after some few panicky calls, I went to my mom's place and found him sitting at the curb. Apparently, a family friend had sent him there. We were at a loss. 

He was a little demented, was quite oblivious, and were just calmly sitting down, smilling even.

So I called my good friend whose mom was a social worker to ask her if she knew any good home for him. Just with a phone call, I got the home's address and off we went. 

It was Agape Nursing Home in Kempas. We arrived at 8pm and the caretaker lady was very accomodating. We all sat down together and discussed about his admittance, and I had to ask him if he was okay with living in that new home. He kept shaking his head, but smiling, and said something in Hokkien which I interpreted to be 'No thanks'. Now, come to think of it, I think he approved and meant "No choice lor". But we were there 'trying' to motivate him for an hour!!

In the end, somehow we understood and I left him under her care. She would clean him up and put on new clothes for him.

This is the part I remember most, as I drove back, I burst into tears. Like the wailing kind. 

How could I do this. Abandon someone in a nursing home. But NONE of HIS children are around.

I cried all the way home. And for 7 years after that, I handled the bill payments and accounts from the funds collected from all my aunts and whoever chipped in.

So that's my story. The end.

His wake was held at Wisma Tiong Hua, Jalan Ngee Heng, Johor Bahru.

Typical wake display. His coffin is behind the altar.

The 'schedule'. Chinese wake must be for 3, 5 or 7 days.

Basically, for the first couple of days, visitors came and paid their last respects. I spent most of the days there, folding paper taels to be burnt for him. We also ate a lot. The undertaker's services include food catering I think. There were lunch, teabreak, dinner and supper. The food was not bad!

Then on the night before the funeral, the monk performed prayers and chants with all of us participating as well. Then it was time to burn the paper house, car, driver, maid, butler, money and taels for him in the other world.

The next day it was the funeral. The real deal. Many of my aunts got emotional because this would be the last time they see him. He was buried next to my grandmother.

The Chinese folks say that this is actually a good occasion because he has lived a long good life, at 90 plus years old. He had 8 great-grandchildren, some of them pictured here. At one point, one of my aunts said this is the mother of all gatherings.

Oh, I must mention, there was a band to send him off!

Following the whole ritual, we had to wash our hands, feet and face and comb our hair in 'flower water', which is a pail of tap water with 7 types of flowers, mostly chrysanthemums, orchids and daisies.

Boy were we exhausted after that! It is sad that he is gone, but also happy that he went peacefully without any ailments or pain. Goodbye Ah Gong...

Wassup

I have stopped driving in to Singapore for work every day. Instead, I now drive in twice a week, and carpool or take the bus for the rest of the week. What an exciting change of routine! I must say, the carpooling groups created on Facebook has brought many drivers and passengers together and has probably helped many daily commuters too. I hope this lasts...

The Path To Success

Taken from here. I finally found an article that truly speaks from my heart as well.

8 Slow, Difficult Steps to Become a Millionaire.

1. Stop obsessing about money. See money NOT as the primary goal but as the by-product of doing the right things.

2. Start tracking how many people you help, even in a very small way. Successful people know that their success is ultimately based on the success of the people around them.

3. Stop thinking about making a million dollars and start thinking about serving a million people.

4. See making money as a way to make more things. The more things you make the more money you make vs make more money to make more things. "We don't make movies to make money, we make money to make more movies" -Walt Disney.

5. Do one thing better. Pick one thing you're already better at than most people.Just. One. Thing. Become maniacally focused at doing that one thing. Work. Train. Learn. Practice. Evaluate. Refine. 

6. Make a list of the world's ten best people at that one thing. For me, that would be Martha Stewart, founder of IKEA, MUJI and Vera Wang.

7. Consistently track your progress.

8. Build routines that ensure progress.

My problem is, I am indecisive. I have many things I want to do, and I can't focus on one! Did I mention that I want to be a teacher too? A teacher to special needs children? But but, I want to design as well? Produce things people will like? Revolutionize people's home and lifestyle?

Tsk tsk tsk.. Ally Ally...

8 Reasons Children of the 1970s Should All Be Dead

Hahaha! So true!
Taken from here.

Challenges

A parent working in Singapore, driving back to JB daily, with children schooling in government schools in JB. If you fall into this demographic, like me, I feel your pain. *hold hands in solemn unity*

First punch that hit me, was the change in the weekend. Things are NOT normal no matter how used to it you are. It's been half a year, though I'm used to it, but I still don't like it, and it doesn't feel normal. 

Now the next punch is the impending raise of the VEP fees. $20 a day, yaaaaaaa-okay. But $35 a day, ouch.

It feels like two moving concrete blocks are narrowing into you and there's no way to run...

The Entrepreneur Bug

Yep.. it's creeping up to me. Whatever I'm doing or see, whenever I am, the first thing that comes to my mind is, "Can I sell this? Will it sell? Will people be crazy about it as I am?" Well, most of the time, the realistic answer is no. Heh.

Then it gets annoying when the brain goes deeper to questions like, "Can you make it sellable? Can I create the demand/trend? What can I do to make it different from the others?"

Then I get the downright exhausting questions like, "What business do you want to start? You want to trade/sell good? Or provide services?"

These days, Facebook is full of those entrepreneur posts... 10 Habits of An Entrepreneur, How to Be An Entrepreneur, From Kitchen Assistant to Franchise Restaurant Owner and Kitchen Supply Company with Multimillion Turnover... you know, titles like that start to attract me.

Gosh, I'm so Chinese.

Everybody wants to have a successful business generating enormous revenue, right? I don't know if I can do it... some part of me believe that can be a reality, but part of me just want this routine, stable-income security.

Hate crossroads... yet love it at the same time.

The Causeway Traffic

It's been crazy. It now takes TWO HOURS to clear the CIQ and the Woodlands Checkpoint. And I don't think it's because of the security-related incidences that happened recently. I find that the passport checks are still the same as before, not any slower, not any faster.

I think it's the significantly increased volume of lorries, busses and cars ALTOGETHER. The notorious motorcycles you ask? They are always there, needless to say. Our beloved causeway cannot cope anymore.

There was this time when I started the queue jam at 5.30 am from CIQ, and when I reached towards the Singapore side at about 7am, it was CLEAR!!! It is totally baffling!! You could almost see everyone's face go 'WTF?!'

Wow, imagine those wasted accumulated hours... I could have sewn 50 bags or something. *__*

My Valentine's Night

Let me tell you about my Valentine's Day.

Spent the whole day working, and feeling meh.

Reached home to quickly prepare potato salad for BBQ party organized by the hubz' golf buddies/business-related associates.

Hubz tells me the host's wife is 4 months pregnant. Memories of my last pregnancy floods in. Shit shit shit shit don't cry don't cry don't cry don't cry. It's been SO long ago surely I have put that away for good right? WRONG! You DON'T forget these things.

Dished out potato salad is a nice big serving bowl and gets into car.

Peak hour jam. To prolong my misery.

Reached. Only one guest there. Says hello to host and preggie wife AND preggie host's sister. Double joy!

The boys make themselves at home. And I MEAN at home. Daniel had his legs up on the sofa and Darren explores the entire house.

We eat first.

More guests arrive. Chatted with some. The men remain near the BBQ pit and drink beer.

Children plays chasing game in the house.

Drank champagne.

Children screaming in the house. A mummy guest carrying her baby requests host to turn off 'something'.

The 'something' turned out to be porn clips on his TV console. Children are jumping and screaming 'EIYER! EIYER!'

Host turns red.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. That was the highlight of my otherwise disastrous night.

A lady guest casually asked why is the BBQ organized on Valentine's Day. My. Sentiments. Exactly. High-five. Turns out it was the host's preggie wife who decided on it. Can't blame her for having placenta brain.

Start to notice the porcelain made-up dressed-up girlfriends of some guests. They looked like heaven. Their hair was long and flowy. But they looked bored. They must be wondering why are they there on Valentine's Day, surrounded by rowdy men burning food and drinking lots of beer.

Clock strikes 11. Time to go home. Daniel has school the next day ( Saturday, a 'replacement' for the given CNY week-long break).

Daniel whispers in my ear "Mummy, don't forget to help me in my homework". I put on the catatonic look.

Reached home at 11.30pm. Looks at Daniel's homework and said "I need time to translate all these"

Sent him to bed.

Took a shower and settled down with my iPhone and the Chinese homework. Used an app to translate word by word.

Finished at 2 am.

Slept. Woke up with excruciatingly painful leg cramps at 3 and 4 am.

Woke up at 6.30am to send Daniel to school, then off to the market.

The End. Yay.

A Little Down...

To be honest, I didn't feel happy and hopeful on the start of the new year. I don't know why, I just felt depressed.

When everyone else is having a new year's day holiday on 1st January, Daniel had to go to school.

Then today (Friday) he asked me why I am working as it is a holiday for him. I want to slap someone, really I do.

I sent a gift to my friend in Sydney but found out she moved to Melbourne!

I took a joy ride during lunch because I got lost at the new road diversion and the new Marine Coastal Expressway. I thought I could go to my usual paper shop and Art Friend at Bras Basah to get my supplies, but alas, not today I guess.

I should count my blessings instead, yes? Oh WTF.

***

After work, I joined my mom and the boys at AEON. She brought them out to play. Ah, grandma is a blessing. It felt like a Saturday, or maybe it is crowded like that everyday. I thought since this is the first 'new Saturday', we should all have a family dinner together, but the husband had to be somewhere else. Oh well.

On the way home, the little one had a 'milk drama'. Demand high but no supply. So we swung by my usual Kedai Ubat Cina to get a can, but didn't have enough cash! I asked the stupidest question, "Do you accept credit card?" HAHAHAHHAHAHHAHA. Of course. But the owner was so kind to give me an IOU because I am a regular there. So I took the milk bottle out, mixed some hot water and made the milk there and then.

Then we got home and I tucked the boys to bed. The house was quiet.

And then I broke down. It was just one of those days.

But tonight, I did something liberating. For me. I usually hide. But tonight, I changed, grabbed my laptop and drove out for wifi and tea. La solo.

I just had to get out.
.
.
.
.
.
.
For wifi.
.
.
.
.

Because I exceeded my internet quota.

Good night!!!

Still searching...

Found this inspiring article on finding your life's mission.

Excerpts:

.."Rabbi Nivin offers two methods for discovering your mission:

1. Ask yourself (and write down): What were the five or ten most pleasurable moments in my life?
2. Ask yourself: If I inherited a billion dollars and had six hours a day of discretionary time, what would I do with the time and money?

When answering the first question, eliminate the universal transcendent moments, such as witnessing the beauty of nature or listening to music. Your mission, of course, may have to do with nature or music, but on a much more individual level than the high all people feel when they see the Grand Canyon. Although your mission may require hard work or genuine sacrifice, when you are engaged in your life’s mission you experience, as Rabbi Nivin puts it, “This feels so good that I could do it all day long.”

"One more point: Fulfilling your individual life’s mission does not exempt you from your global missions, such as supporting your family or raising your children. Starting an outreach center for the elderly may have to wait until your children are grown. Writing that book on internet addiction may have to be tucked into your few spare hours after your full-time job. Don’t worry. The God who assigned you your mission will make sure you have everything you need—including time now or later—to fulfill it."

I'm still thinking about the answers to the two questions. So far these are my answers:

1. What were the most pleasurable moments in my life?

-whenever I make my children happy.

-when I surprised Daniel with his room makeover.

-when I design and make something.

2. What will I do with the time and money?

-surprise my mom with her home makeover (her kitchen needs it)

-open a retail shop featuring designs and products from all over the world (home and stationery)

-design and find a production factory 

-open an art & science fun centre for children

-find an old house for sale, revamp and redecorate it, and put it up for sale.

-help poor children with special needs

I WILL start somewhere. And the first step is usually making that life-changing phonecall or email.

Where Am I

I am a simple and contented person. But a minute ago, I want to be those people in the news known for their achievements, like what you always read nowadays, "From waiter to $12mil worth restaurant franchise owner". How did that happen? I know for sure it took a lot of sacrifice, hard work, and initial investments and loses. What about luck? I'm sure it took a lot of that too. Will I be able to go through all that to be where I want to be? I don't know man... But lately I've been growing curious about being in the business world, the real world, the dog-eat-dog world and I wonder if I can do it.

Women Over 40

CBS commentator, Andy Rooney on women over 40: "As I grow in age, I value women over 40 most of all. Here are just a few reasons why: A woman over 40 will never wake you in the middle of the night and ask, 'What are you thinking?' She doesn't care what you think. If a woman over 40 doesn't want to watch the game, she doesn't sit around whining about it. She does something she wants to do, and it's usually more interesting. Women over 40 are dignified. They seldom have a screaming match with you at the opera or in the middle of an expensive restaurant. Of course, if you deserve it, they won't hesitate to shoot you if they think they can get away with it. Older women are generous with praise, often undeserved. They know what it's like to be unappreciated. Women get psychic as they age. You never have to confess your sins to a woman over 40. Once you get past a wrinkle or two, a woman over 40 is far sexier than her younger counterpart. Older women are forthright and honest. They'll tell you right off if you are a jerk if you are acting like one. You don't ever have to wonder where you stand with her. Yes, we praise women over 40 for a multitude of reasons. Unfortunately, it's not reciprocal. For every stunning, smart, well-coiffed, hot woman over 40, there is a bald, paunchy relic in yellow pants making a fool of himself with some 22-year old waitress. Ladies, I apologize. For all those men who say, 'Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?', here's an update for you. Nowadays 80% of women are against marriage. Why? Because women realize it's not worth buying an entire pig just to get a little sausage!

Weekend Expenses in Johor Bahru

I think we are an average middle-income group of family in Malaysia. A typical family of four, you know... Papa bear, Mama bear and two baby bears. Papa and Mama bears have full-time jobs, baby bears are either in a childcare, at babysitter's, at grandparents' or at home with a domestic helper. Weekdays are spent working, then dinners and some hang-out time at home.

Then come weekends. Some families just stay at home, eat at home, play at home. That is what the Ruling government is forcing motivating us to do. 

But I think most families eat out during weekends. And families with young children usually end up in malls. In Johor Bahru, the dominant indoor hang-out is AEON (Jusco). It has something for the Mom (ladies shopping), something for the Dad (digital, phone, electronics) and something for the kiddos (the arcade/game/playground theme park). It's the best. But not so best for the tight pocket.

Here's a glimpse of our wallet's point of view.

SATURDAY

Wet market grocery shopping for Monday-Friday's lunch for 2 and dinner for 4. This includes a whole free-range chicken, pork parts for soup, minced meat, 3 types of fishes (cod fish now and then), veges, banana, guava, apples, 10 kampung eggs, and dry goods.

RM160.

Breakfast for 2 at traditional coffeeshop, includes two slices of kaya butter toast, two eggs, two Milos and a plate of meesiam.

RM10+

Lunch for 3. Chicken rice from our favorite Tampoi hawkerstall.

RM10.50

Dinner for 4. Mee Hoon Kueh from Tampoi makeshift stall by an old abandoned house.

RM16

SUNDAY

Breakfast at Delifrance, AEON Tebrau City: Baguette, Chicken Rendang Pie, slice of cake, one Cappuccino.

RM48+

Lunch for 2 at Tang Shifu, AEON Tebrau City: Tonic soup+rice, meesuah, buns. 

RM60+

Kid's theme park at AEON Tebrau City: 10 tokens.

RM10

Dinner for 5 at tze char restaurant.

RM50+

Giant Grocery Shopping: Biscuits, Cereal, Milk, Detergent, Tissues, Diapers, Wet Wipes.
RM200

OK, that Delifrance breakfast was the first time. Mighty pricey if you ask me. I'd stick to the coffeeshop style. Mall dining is getting 'heavier'. But we gotta drive the economy, right?

psst.. I'm not even buying fashion!

Chinese Flower Bath

RM1 per pack

Lately, I started buying a pack of flowers from the florist near the Tebrau wet market after I do my weekend grocery shopping. The pack of flowers are for the husband to mandi. It contains 7 different types of flowers, as opposed to some write-ups that says it must contain flowers of each colours of the rainbow. I dunno, I ask the florist wan. Variations for convenience I guess. Fill up a pail with water, put the flowers on the water and then bath with the water with a scoop. The Chinese believe that this can wash away your bad luck or any bad aura around you or just to 'cleanse' yourself and be 'blessed' with happy fragrance... well, the latter part is my theory. Flowers make one happy doesn't it?

My Sore Throat and Cough Remedy

I'm gonna risk jinxing this but sharing is caring. My secret cough remedy. Tried and tested. But warning first, I took a combination of some of the below.

Foreword: I don't see a doctor unless necessary, that's me. I would try out all the natural or basic remedies first. I don't even take Panadol unless it's high fever or I have a very bad headache ahead of a very important ballroom performance.

ONE
Hall's Vita-C. Overheard at the market while I was grocery-shopping that these little candies stopped a month-long cough. Like S.T.O.P.P.E.D. I took out my iPad from my vege basket and jotted it down. This kinda thing comes naturally to me you know.

TWO
Golden Throat Lozenges. Amazon sells them, no kidding. Don't worry, you can buy these from any Chinese Medicine shops. Works wonders for sore throat. Of course if it is accompanied by fever, go see a doctor, it could be a nasty throat infection. These lozenges can sooth the throat well though. It is actually concentrated luo han guo.

THREE
Boiled Coke, with a squeeze of lemon (optional). Yes, easily available Coke. Boil a cup for 5 minutes, squeeze half a lemon into it, let it cool down a bit and sip it slowly like tea. My mom says it's the asam in Coke. But it sure helped my itchy-throat cough.

FOUR
Prospan. I love this because it is natural! Made of ivy leaf extract. I give this to my boys.

FIVE
Peppermint leaves. Try to grow this plant if you can. Quite a hardy plant. I boiled 2-3 leaves in a cup of water and sipped it slowly like tea. Add honey if you like. I give this to my 2 year-old when he had a bad cough and it helped tremendously.

SIX
Difflam lozenges. The red ones, because those are anti-bacterial. They are not antibiotics. This is one of my must-have for more painful sore throat. It leave a little bitter after-taste and it kinds numbs your throat. Available in pharmacies.

Lastly, it's REST. Rest is best. It's no use taking all the best medication in the world but still slogging away all stressed up. Sure, your symptoms may go away and you'd think you're good enough to samba all night but really, your body is still recovering, cell by cell. Listen to your mama.


Alright, not a secret anymore. I know how coughs can be very disruptive and tiring, especially when the kids are having it. So you can give those a try and see if they help.

Post-Election Fever

I voted, I polling agent-ed, I wept.

But slowly, I'm feeling happy and hopeful again.